2021 REOPENING – LOCKDOWN LEVEL 3 OPENING UPDATE

The New Year started with a bang and a stammer at Oasis.

We had planned to open Monday 11 January, but with the reinstatement of Level 3 COVID restrictions, and the alarming increase in the rate of transmission, we had to go back to the drawing board.

Dear Oasis family,

Once again, a big “thank you” to everyone who helped us provide food parcels to 314 of our adult and day centre child beneficiaries in 2019. None of us dreamt at the time that within months the entire globe would be in the grips of a health crisis which would impact all of us – some of us very tragically.

We are deeply grateful for your kind and generous support over the years. You have all consistently given. Each year we have reached our target of festive food parcels.

None of this would have been possible without you.

 

The year 2020 has been very different from previous years. We have had to distribute hundreds of food parcels every month to those in need within the Oasis family. There will be no holiday period to speak of this year as we were only permitted to start phasing back our beneficiaries towards the end of November, and most are still at home. Our team is working relentlessly to provide emotional support and social assistance during this difficult time.

Now in our 12th year of food parcels, we are aiming to give 350 beneficiaries the gift of food, nourishment, and care. At a cost of over R600 for one food parcel, the aim is to, with your help, fill as many parcels as possible between now and Christmas closure.

Each parcel will hold nourishing, low-cost food, health and hygiene items, as well as a few treats.

 

Every rand, every tin of baked beans, or packet of rice donated helps us put together a food parcel. We hope that you will assist us in gifting our beneficiaries and their families by supporting our appeal and sharing this message with your family, friends, and colleagues.

The details of how to give a tin, or packet of food, or to contribute cash towards filling parcels are below.

Thank you to all who can assist. To those who can’t, we send our thoughts of support to you.

It has been a really tough year for everyone.

We hope 2021 will be better.

Kind regards

Gail Bester

Executive Director   |   021 671 2698

DROP OFF

For all food item donations, we have set up a collection point at the Recycling drop-off, in Claremont: Cnr Lee and Imam Haron Roads.

The food parcel list is here…

SNAPSCAN

CASH DONATIONS

Cash donations can be dropped off directly at our Claremont Oasis Book Store and Bric-a-Brac shop where the cashiers will ring up your donation under “food parcels”.

DIRECT DEPOSIT/EFT

Deposit directly into:

Account name: Oasis Association

Bank: First National Bank

Branch: Claremont

Acc no: 593 7179 7078

Branch code: 200 109

If you drop off cash or deposit money into our bank account, please stipulate FOOD PARCEL and give us your NAME and CONTACT DETAILS, so that we can issue you with a Section 18A tax receipt for your tax rebates.

EMAIL US

Please email your deposit slip or EFT transaction download to donor@oasis.org.za

We are launching a new Oasis Co-Op, where we will be selling bottled goods, handmade sweets and fudge, knitted or sewn items and much more… Through an application process, we will make space on our shelves available to those with beautiful handcrafted items, delicious homemade treats (excluding baked goods) and those who upcycle materials into on-trend items.

If you would like to become one of our suppliers please email Gail Bester at director@oasis.org.za with photographs of your products and prices.

RECYCLING REMAINS CLOSED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE. PINELANDS AND ELSIES RIVER REMAIN CLOSED.

Come and browse all your favourites.

New shops, new areas! We have spread the shop into 3 areas to enable social distancing:

• Clothing at Lee Road Gate.
• Bric-a-brac, technical goods, and art in the shop.
• Books and furniture at recycling drop-off.

We look forward to welcoming you.

We are fiercely guarding the safety of our customers and staff and everyone will be required to adhere to our regulations (which are laid down for us by Departments of Labour and Social Development)

• • No mask = No entry
  • No sit down drinks or eats yet!
  • Screening stations with temperatures and questions, names and cell numbers (The latter for contact tracing – laid down for us)
  • Sanitising of hands
  • Strict adherence to social distancing
  • No fitting rooms or public toilets
  • Limited numbers in each shopping area
  • Limited time for customers
  • Pay for purchases in each area at each area pay point
  • Lee Road gate – only entry to clothing/shoes/bags
  • Imam Haron gate – entry to other areas but not clothing

Address: Corner Lee and Imam Haron Road, Claremont

COVID UPDATE 2020: Oasis recycling will remain closed for now. The Oasis recycling depot is unfortunately still unable to operate during level 4 COVID-19 lockdown. Our core business is to provide care and opportunities for our people with intellectual disability. Our first priority has to be their welfare and we cannot operate our recycling depot without placing them at risk.

Week 9 UPDATE COVID-19 LOCKDOWN

A time to rebuild and take stock

It seems to us that special day care centres like ours are going to be amongst the last “schools” to return after lockdown. When we return, we will have to stagger passenger transport and days between the children in order to meet the distancing requirements. Similarly, once we receive the official go ahead, beneficiaries at the workshops will only return in small teams, once staff have returned and learnt the new ropes of business unusual.

Looking back

In March 2014 our workshop in Elsie’s River burnt down. It was devastating! The building was immediately condemned and declared uninhabitable. Furniture, fittings, equipment, and offices were destroyed and four passenger vehicles severely damaged. Thankfully no one was injured. On the Sunday morning of the fire we sat in the yard on upturned crates while the fire department fought the last of the blaze. We felt very battered and bewildered. The one thing we all agreed on was that our beneficiaries should not suffer unduly. We started putting together our plans for the 200 staff and beneficiaries to relocate to our Claremont services. Exactly 24 hours after our planning commenced, the first hired bus with 60 passengers arrived at Claremont. To this day I am still in awe of the staff team who made this happen.

The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step – Lao Tzu

 

Taking Oasis to our beneficiaries

In a way the fire was a microcosm dress rehearsal of sorts. I draw strength from knowing that our staff are now even more determined that our beneficiaries not suffer unduly due to the ravages of the COVID-19 pandemic. We are working hard at implementing our programme to take Oasis to our beneficiaries. Staff really miss our beneficiaries and it was an easy exercise calling them back to do this work.

“I draw strength from knowing that our staff are now even more determined that our beneficiaries not suffer unduly due to the ravages of the COVID-19 pandemic.”

 

At our day centres for 90 children with severe/profound intellectual disability, each individual has their own development programme. Some need physiotherapy and some need social work interventions. We have taken Oasis to 76 beneficiaries and their families this week, bearing messages of encouragement to families as well as health and hygiene products, nourishing food and of course toys and games for the children. A programme implementer also assisted to show families how personal development could be continued at home. The 76 beneficiaries also included many from the Oasis workshops.

No one forgotten

In the next weeks we plan to develop a much wider reaching programme – aiming to reach those who may for example not need food assistance but who need encouragement, to be helped to keep safe and who, like all of us at this time, need to see some familiar faces or would love to be given a simple puzzle, craft or magazine.

Huge gratitude

We are so grateful for the messages of support, the encouragement and the financial assistance we have received. In so many ways it keeps us going. Please bear with us if you have not received a tax receipt and our thank you letter yet. Should you wish to support us again in taking Oasis to our beneficiaries, or keeping our wonderful staff team well fed and warm during the dreadful challenges they face, please make a donation via our website or through SnapScan. The fire of 2014 destroyed brick and mortar and many possessions, but it didn’t destroy our spirit. It was rebuilt and occupied within a year. The COVID-19 pandemic has the power to end lives which can never be rebuilt. Please help us to rebuild as many livelihoods and broken spirits as we can. Gail Bester, Executive Director Click here to find out how you can support us.

Week 6: UPDATE COVID-19 LOCKDOWN

Should Oasis reopen our recycling now or not? This is the question which we find posed to us, and for which the answer is proving to be one of the toughest balancing acts we have ever had to face. Oasis recycling drop off is important for several reasons:

• Recyclers need us so they can channel materials into a system to prevent those materials from going into landfills.
• Our recycling initiative helps us to provide work to hundreds of people with disabilities.

But in these uncertain times, nothing is normal, and the number of issues we face in making the decision to open or not are numerous – truly a balancing act. So, we find ourselves weighing up options and trying to balance all sorts of considerations and complexities in order to make the right decision at the right time.

Balancing the question of whether Oasis should reopen its recycling drop off to the public, has been one of the toughest balancing acts I’ve ever experienced.

 

We have had numerous queries and some helpful suggestions, and believe me when I say, we are also all eager to get back to work and earn an income. But in order to explain our dilemma, I thought I should share some of the reasoning and context behind our decision to remain closed for now. Amongst other considerations, here are some of the issues:

• Up to 300 households drop their recycling materials if not daily, then weekly at Oasis – literally thousands of drops off per month. Trying to receive these materials at our gates rather than on our premises would not only create traffic congestion but would still require a high number of workers.
• Well in excess of 200 staff and disabled beneficiaries work at processing recycling across the two projects at Claremont and Elsies River. Some months we can barely keep up with the volumes. This is particularly true after our closure period in December/January when recyclers pile up their materials while they wait for Oasis to reopen. If we were to operate now, only 50% of our staff may return, severely limiting our ability to process the intake, and yet it would be impossible to restrict drop offs to 50% of their usual volumes.
• In September 2019 the prices for some materials bottomed out as there was a moratorium on exporting to China. This impacted us greatly and these prices are yet to recover. In April 2020 we were informed of at least two other buyers who are not buying materials for the foreseeable future. This will rectify itself with time as the COVID-19 impact on the economy lessens, but it is still a large impact in our current financial circumstances.
• By law we may not open until we are able to safeguard the workforce. Part of this is the protective personal equipment (PPE) which we started ordering in early April. PPE is a large, unplanned expense against our already very depleted and finite cash flow and even if we did have the capital to purchase all the PPE we needed, there are huge hold ups with delivery dates. Some affordable good quality items are only available by the end of May. Bear in mind our entire Oasis family across eight services, is 700+ people.
• Most of our disabled workforce can’t use public transport and travel to work on 32 to 40-seater Oasis buses. Our workers eat lunch in a happily crammed canteen. Add to that the hundreds of members of the public who interface with us when they recycle and shop at our Claremont branch daily. Our beneficiaries’ limitations render many of them to a cognitive functionality of a primary school learner, and they all desire to be social and warm with each other, ultimately making social distancing impossible.

And so even though we have tried to find alternatives for our supporters, we’ve come up empty handed, and while being very mindful of how we are disappointing hundreds of recycling households and businesses, we have had to make the difficult decision to remain closed for now.

 

We are told by recyclers that a permit is required to drop off materials at local municipal recycling dumps – we can’t confirm that at this time. It is heart breaking, but for now we need to all discard our materials through our household wheelie bin collections. Please forgive us but we quite simply cannot do recycling now, and we promise we have not made this decision lightly. Should you wish to assist us to buy signage, thermometers, soap, sanitisers, masks, visors, and/ or aprons, your contributions would be greatly appreciated. Please don’t relax your disciplined approach to staying safe. Lockdown will slowly be relaxed but we must stay vigilant. Thank you for your support. recycling@oasis.org.za Click here to find out how you can support us. 

UPDATE: In the meantime, if you would like to continue recycling, here is a list of alternative options:

• The recycling centre behind Constantia mall is open for glass, paper and plastic.

• You can drop off your recycling at JustJunk in Wynberg (cost R20 per refuse bag), or contact them to arrange a collection (they will give you a quote depending on your requirements).

• Sign up with Clearer Conscience who will collect your recycling weekly (for a monthly fee).

Week 4: UPDATE COVID-19 LOCKDOWN

I thought reading may ease some of my lockdown frustration and so I have embarked on reading the highly acclaimed “Becoming” by Michelle Obama.“Becoming” opens with some references in the preface to what kids want to do when they grow up. Casting my mind back, I can clearly remember my aspirations. None were generous at all. I wanted to own a bicycle with an ice box at the front, filled with ice creams. I dreamt of riding about the neighbourhood ringing a bell and summoning the neighbourhood kids. My dream was based entirely on my own love of ice cream. What better way to have my fill of that delicious frozen goodness, especially when my pocket money was spent? I lost interest in this career when the first person landed on the moon. After that all I wanted was to become an astronaut. I didn’t know then that I would have an irrational fear of heights. But as selfish as I was, other nicer kids dreamt of being police officers, doctors, social workers and teachers. They had generous ambitions which would help others and save lives. Funny how life works out?! Today we find ourselves in a global pandemic with unprecedented hardship and loss, and yet this is a time where each one of us can do exactly that – help others, care and save lives. President Ramaphosa addressed the nation on Tuesday evening and spoke about saving lives and livelihoods. It strikes me that each one of us can play a role, without ever having to study at university or an academy. Even overgrown selfish kids like me can play a role. This role includes and is not limited to:

• Staying home unless you have to go out to buy essential food or for medical reasons.
• Wear a mask and if set up to do so, make masks for others.
• Wash your hands very thoroughly with soap, regularly.
• Keep your distance from others in the shop, at the taxi rank and on the pavement.
• Don’t entertain visitors and don’t visit others unless to assist a vulnerable person.
• Keep paying wages if at all possible.
• Help others to understand how to access Government and other relief.
• Contribute to a charity or a COVID-19 appeal of your choice.
• Show gratitude to all medical and essential workers.

At Oasis our prime focus has been networking with all staff and beneficiaries at home with constant education and encouragement. Feeding beneficiaries has been a real challenge. Although a lot of feeding and food parcels are reported, in reality accessing this relief on the ground is extremely difficult At the same time and trying to feed all our beneficiaries, we are also working on our phased in re-entry to the workplace and procuring the required hygiene and health items necessary for the reopening.

I would like to say thank you so much for the generous outpouring of care from our friends and supporters. We are encouraged and most grateful for your help. Those who would still like to help us, please remember no amount is too small.

 

We can all sell ice cream or become astronauts later, but right now we need to help others, care and save lives. Be safe. Gail Bester, Executive Director

info@oasis.org.za

Week 2: UPDATE COVID-19 LOCKDOWN

Intellectual disability is often misunderstood and too often unkind labels are attached to people with intellectual disabilities. Some say our beneficiaries are slow. Hardly. You should see them do athletics and when they are playing soccer! They’re much, much quicker than I am! Some have even represented the Western Cape at SA trials and some have taken part and won medals at the Special Olympics. Aside from ‘slow’, many other labels are also used – all of which I will not seek to disprove now. What I do know – above anything else is that a common identity does not confer on any of our beneficiaries. They are all individuals and like any cross-section of a group, they all differ. Some can sing and some sound dreadful. Some have naturally positive personalities. Some are grumpy. Some like tuna and lettuce on whole wheat and some prefer chips. What they do all have in common is a significant limitation in their cognitive functioning that translates into areas of limited adaptive functioning.

For example, identifying and avoiding risks; understanding consequences; abstract thinking; understanding time and money; and so on and so forth… It is these limitations that are their very real daily challenges. So when you place 10 remarkable staff in lockdown with 24 residents with intellectual disabilities, it is these unique challenges that staff must deal with. If residents battle to understand the risks and consequences of COVID-19, then handwashing and physical distancing requires patient persistence and repetition. Staff lend their support, provide guidance and supervision and above all they give love.

This isn’t dutiful love, nor is it written into job descriptions. It is authentic care, which isn’t difficult to give thanks to the nature of our amazing staff. Oasis is extremely fortunate to have the calibre of staff that we do. All in all we have 157 staff across all our centres. This includes 26 youth interns doing fulltime work readiness for a year and working alongside our beneficiaries as companion workers. We salute all of our staff and especially our house staff for all they are doing for our residents.

We also salute all of you who have sent us good wishes and/or money – we are deeply grateful. (Forgive us if you haven’t received our formal thanks and receipt yet. You will.) Oasis is in a critical place financially with all of our work programmes closed, (shops, bakeries, recycling projects, confidential paper shredding for Government departments and businesses, and packaging and processing jobs for large companies.)

We understand that this awful pandemic has left no-one untouched, and disposable income may be very limited. But if you are in the position to assist us in any way, please do. No amount is too small. We need our full complement of staff returning to their jobs, when they can, to be able to keep our services open and opportunities available to our 588 beneficiaries.

I hope and pray that I can count on you?

And please help save lives – stay home.

Gail Bester, Executive Director

info@oasis.org.za

Week 1: UPDATE COVID-19 LOCKDOWN

We are humbled by the concern expressed for all of our beneficiaries and staff during this awful time. Many have asked what we are doing. Oasis closed its shops, bakeries and recycling depot to the public on 18 March, which seemed early but our first priority was to provide as much protection for our vulnerable family as possible. Weeks before that we embarked on a hand washing education programme with everyone. A special team of staff, whether cleaners or not, were drafted into deep cleaning teams to keep all touch points and surfaces disinfected.

Do provide information Often people think that children and adults with intellectual disabilities do not understand what is happening in society and exclude them from conversations. This is often untrue, unsafe and goes against their constitutional right to receive information that could impact their health. While the levels of understanding will vary, many people with intellectual disabilities have already noticed the change in lifestyle, the anxiety in their community and they would have heard the repetition of the word ‘Coronavirus’ – it is everywhere. So step 1 is to put together a plan to provide your children and adults with intellectual disabilities with the correct information. Find the best way to share information Many clients with intellectual disabilities could have a barrier to communicating and this could be a barrier in receiving or understanding information such as:

• a hearing or visual impairment
• decreased understanding of language
• decreased ability to process information
• decreased ability to store information/memory issues.

What this means is that YOU need to find the best way to relay the information regarding COVID-19.

Most importantly, help people with intellectual disabilities remain calm and enjoy the time at home with family. Explain that we can and will get through this, but everyone needs to work together and stay at home.  

 

Important points to share

• COVlD-19 is a new type of virus (that’s like a germ) that makes people sick. It can also be called the Coronavirus
• People get Coronavirus when they come into contact with other people who already have the virus. They might not know they have it and if they cough or sneeze or talk, the virus spreads from their mouth and either onto other people or onto stuff around them like tables or clothing.
• People who get the virus might have a fever, dry cough and shortness of breath (that’s when it feels like it’s difficult to breathe).
• Most people who get sick will be able to stay home and get better but some people will need to go to hospital.
• We can help stop the spread of the virus by washing our hands with soap and water. We wash our hands slowly, making sure to wash between fingers and all over our hands. We can also use hand sanitiser.
• We wash our hands regularly and try really hard not to touch our eyes, mouth and face during the day.
• We can also slow down the spread of the virus by staying at home. You may have noticed that your school or workplace is closed for now and you are at home. We will all need to stay home for a little bit to try to help not spread the virus. We won’t be able to go visit our favourite places right now, the government will tell us when it’s safe to do so.
• It is normal to feel scared or worried that you might get the virus – talk to the people who care for you about it and they will help you. Remember, not everyone will get sick with this virus but you could still get a cold or flu or even a tummy bug so don’t be afraid to tell them when you’re not feeling well.
• The government has placed our country under ‘Lockdown’ this means we all have to stay in our homes to stay protected from the virus. We will be safe in our homes and all look after each other. We will still be able to get the things we need like food and water. We must not panic.

Tips to help someone with intellectual disability manage during COVID-19 Lockdown

• Help the person understand the Coronavirus and try to include people with intellectual disabilities in the conversations to learn about the virus.
• What to say: The government has placed our country under ‘Lockdown‘ this means we all have to stay in our homes to stay protected from the virus. We will be safe in our homes and all look after each other. We will still be able to get the things we need like food and water. We must not panic.
• Manage the amount of news they watch and listen to about COVlD-19, too much can make anyone anxious and scared.
• As far as possible, plan the day and include activities such as puzzles, drawing, reading/being read to, exercise, chores etc.
• Include those with intellectual disabilities in family conversations, games and chores.
• Use pictures for reminders to wash hands regularly e.g. put pictures up in the bathroom of handwashing sequence.
• Use pictures to do an emotional ‘check-in‘ daily – you could do this with emoji’s on a cell phone or draw happy – sad – sceared – sleepy – sick faces on a page and ask the child or adult to point at how they are feeling in the morning and the evening. This will help manage any anxiety they may have and will also help them speak to you about when they feel sick. Many people with intellectual disabilities might be sacred to say they feel sick because they’re scared to go to hospital or could even be afraid they may die.
• Remember that many children and adults with intellectual disabilities do best with routine. So ask their school or protective workplace for a copy of their daily routine and try to stick to those meal and activity times to limit confusion and frustration OR if that is not possible, develop a new yet similar routine as a family.
• If you have access to the internet, research activities. There are loads available on YouTube and via general Google searches. Activities like making things from recycled items, baking, cooking, playing matching or memory games or even working in the garden are good ideas.
• The internet is also a good way to stay in contact with friends and family – can you set up a WhatsApp group for their friends? Or a time for chats with other people in their lives?
• Most importantly, help people with intellectual disabilities remain calm and enjoy the time at home with family. Explain that we can and will get through this, but everyone needs to work together and stay at home.
• If you’re in a group home or residential facility, and have stopped visitors, explain why their family will not be visiting. You could:
  • Set up WhatsApp video calls with family members
  • Put up a calendar explaining how long the physical distancing will last and when they can expect visitors again [this is difficult as we’re not sure at this point but a month is a good place to start and explain when it needs to be extended]
  • As far as possible, try to stick to normal routines. If therapists/educators are not visiting, try to do some group exercise or group craft activities. There are many free videos like this on YouTube.

Most importantly, help people with intellectual disabilities remain calm and enjoy the time at home with family. WCFID Western Cape Forum for Intellectual Disability info@wcfid.co.za www.wcfid.co.za 

Oasis is a non-profit organisation, a legal persona in its own right, with no shareholders or owners. It is governed by a non-remunerated board of people who have the ability to find balance between managing limited resources effectively, maximising efficiencies and maintaining the ethos of care that has been the hallmark of our work over the years.

“Oasis came into being because a group of parents refused to take no for an answer. Little did they know that their tireless efforts would, over decades, unlock incredible opportunities for people with intellectual disabilities.” – Gail Bester; Executive Director

 

Today Oasis offers opportunities for more than 500 people with intellectual disabilities as our primary beneficiaries, and their families as our secondary beneficiaries.

These opportunities in Claremont, Delft, Elsies River, Kenwyn, Ravensmead and Ruyterwacht, include:

• Group living in affordable housing.

• Occupation and training in protected and supported environments.

• Day Care Centres with specialised care for severely and profoundly disabled kids.

• Activity groups for adults who need high levels of supervision.

Read a short review from the Executive Director, the Chairperson and the Treasurer about how the period of 2018 – 2019 went for the organisation with updates on staffing, financials and the amazing growth and expansion the organisation has experienced recently.

At Oasis we have had a goal for many years to create the opportunity for young people to work alongside our intellectually disabled workers.

The intention of this project is to increase productivity amongst the workers, provide secondary supervision, and most importantly to provide companionship. 2019 saw the launch of Oasis’ Companion Worker Internship. The programme is aimed at unemployed youth that have a minimum of Grade 11. Our dream was able to come to fruition thanks to the Allan Gray Orbis Foundation Endowment in which the Allan Gray Orbis Foundation agreed to fund Oasis over three years to create jobs, as part of their 10kj project.

A 12-month internship programme was designed to develop the interns work and life skills capabilities with the aim of better preparing them for work. 14 interns started at the beginning of the year, with 11 candidates completing the programme in 2019, and in 2020 we are looking forward to welcoming a new group of 26 interns.

Internal and external courses included First Aid; health and safety; fire safety, drug awareness and HIV/AIDS. The interns also trained and have worked in several Oasis departments including baking, gardening, cleaning, vehicle washing, office admin, stock processing for shops, stores and procurement. The Oasis team are very proud of our interns and wish them well for their futures when they leave us at the end of January 2020.

Yonele Ndunge (Matric) Yonele did a three-month home-based care course and assisted her mother with a shop in their home before joining Oasis. Her dream is to study to be a traffic officer. She was awarded her driver’s licence during the year through hard work and dedication to her dream. Due to her reliability and strong work ethic Oasis has asked her to stay on and work in the procurement and stores department while she waits for the results of her application to the traffic department. Yonele enjoys TV, music and reading.

Nosipho Dyariwe (Matric) Nosipho was unemployed before joining Oasis having done a short stint of housekeeping at a hotel. She did very well at the admin work in the Oasis Offices and has been accepted to study Business Management at college next year. Nosipho is a twin!

Siphosethu Gqulela (Matric) Although he has worked for a catering service previously, Siphosethu was unemployed when joining Oasis. He is friendly and helpful and has helped other learners at school when he could. In exciting news, Siphosethu has been accepted to study Tourism in 2020 at college. He loves drawing and he even presented the Executive Director with one of his paintings. He has a quirky sense of humour and has an interesting analytical approach to all he learns.

Retetse Maphaka (Matric) Retetse put in a lot of hard work this year to upgrade her matric results – she awaits her results and based on that, her application for Dental Nursing at CPUT next year could be successful. All this hard work and studying was completed while doing her internship at Oasis, where she has participated fully – no easy task. Clearly, she is a very determined young lady. Retetse loves cooking.

Anovuyo Shenxani (N4) Anovuyo plays netball and helps in her Community Neighbourhood Watch. She was unemployed prior to Oasis having had two short term casual jobs. Retetse had completed the first year (N4) of a three-year Management Assistance course when she had to seek employment. She successfully completed her Oasis internship with hard work never, all while never loosing focus on her studies. She has been accepted to study second year Commence at college in 2020.

Azizipho Stamper (Grade 11) Having successfully completed his Grade 11 schooling, Azizipho was unemployed when he heard of the Oasis internship. He has applied himself well to numerous skills development programmes including a gruelling four days working alongside a construction crew working on an Oasis project. He is a devoted football fan and assists with coaching. Azi has been offered a permanent job with Oasis and will be further developed to help us in our shop, tea garden and kitchen.

Thubelihle Mlobeni (Matric) Thubelihle has been unemployed since matriculating. She plays netball and sings in her church choir. Her dream is to become a nurse and she is awaiting the SA Nursing Council scheduling with their next course dates. The skills she has learned at Oasis about working with disabled people will be a great help to her in her future career.

Ludwe Mvandaba Ludwe had worked at Oasis as a casual where he learnt about our internship programme. While his work skills were being developed at Oasis, he decided to improve his matric results to push him into a higher category of learning. He achieved this by improving his maths literacy by a solid 12%. Ludwe has shown empathy to our disabled workers. He has pursued various applications for a few possible future career paths. (Ludwe’s mom collected his certificate)

Nazeefa Jaffer (Matric) Nazeefa did a Paediatric 1st Aid course and completed the theoretical part of Educare N4 and N5 before starting at Oasis. She is really keen to complete the 18-month practical. She is quiet and hardworking and has applied herself this year. Oasis is looking at the possibility of her doing her practical at the Oasis Day Centre. Nazeefa loves reading.

Zaido Moosa (Grade 11) Prior to joining the Oasis internship, Zaido assisted with teaching children at a primary school. She also did baking and cleaning work. She has completed several courses including a handyman/ maintenance course which she enjoyed and has already used in her own home. Zaido loves netball.

Lunga Mbeki (Matric) Prior to joining the Oasis internship Lunga attended a training academy for petrol pump attendants and did some part time work. Lunga’s dream has always been to work for the SA Police Services. To do so he needs a driver’s licence and will be using his year-end bonus to get himself up and driving! Lunga has worked consistently hard this year and he will be an asset to the Police Services. Lunga loves football.